The Spirit of Thrive

The Spirit of Thrive

The Spirit of Thrive2011-08-242017-11-21http://thrivehappinessmovement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/thrive-logo.pngThrive Happiness Movementhttp://thrivehappinessmovement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/thrive-logo.png200px200px

It really encapsulates exactly what the Thrive movement is all about and what we hope to achieve.

I’m sitting in my favourite café, people watching instead of writing. So far I’ve seen an elderly lady with hot pink hair, a baby holding her dad’s finger as she navigates four shaky steps from his leg to her mum’s leg and a dog that looks exactly like it’s owner. When I think of Thrive I think of things like this, expression, human connections, community and things that make you smile.

I believe happiness is a really simple thing. It’s laughing instead of whining. It’s giving without expecting something in return. It’s singing though your voice resembles that of a cat in heat. It’s being kind to people that don’t deserve it.

Yes, it’s very simple, but it isn’t always easy. Happy living is risky living. Especially when you’ve seen a bit of life and realise that sometimes people suck. Hurts in life can make us close off to people. We lick our wounds and hope quietly, quietly that we won’t have to go through something like that again. We stay to ourselves, “I will never be that stupid again”, “I will never let a person that close to me again.” We board up our windows; avoiding eye contact, keeping things surface level, keeping people at an arms length. We think that’ll keep us from being hurt again, but all it does is keep us living half lives.

This project exists to bring together people who want to live full, happy lives and those who want to spread happiness. The two are not mutually exclusive. In fact we believe you can’t be truly happy until you share good things with others and you that you can’t be generous and unhappy.

So let’s start today with one happy action. What will it be for you? What would happen if you paid for the petrol of the person filling up at the number 2 pump? What if you smiled at the person walking past you in the street? What if you paid for the coffee of the person behind you in the coffee shop? What if you bought your mum a bunch of flowers “just because” or wrote an anonymous thank you card to someone you admire. What if you looked someone in the eyes and asked how they are, really?

Maybe the action you take today makes someone smile in the midst of a difficult time, or maybe it changes their life. Maybe just maybe it starts something magical that ripples out, touching more people building into something amazing. A refreshing revelation. A happiness movement.